The Pope Supports Migrants, not Trump, Obama to Visit Cuba, Cosby Files New Suit Against Accuser: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: Alfredo Borba

  Pope Francis visited the border between Mexico and the United States and appealed to governments to be sympathetic to plight of migrants.

• But in much, much more important news Pope Francis also said that Donald Trump is "not Christian" for his anti-immigrant, pro-wall positions. So that's what the news cycle is all about. Even the pope has to start a fight with Trump to get publicity.
• President Barack Obama will become the first sitting president to visit Cuba in 88 years.
• The economist who claims that Bernie Sanders' economic agenda will actually increase growth and not utterly destroy us all is nevertheless going to vote for Hillary Clinton in the primaries.
• Bill Cosby is filing a civil suit against one of the women who has accused him of sexual assault, accusing her of breaching the confidentiality agreement from back in 2006 that settled her complaint and demanding the money he gave her back.
• The feds are dropping charges against the six other employees of gay escort site Rentboy.com, leaving only CEO Jeffrey Hurant facing the court.
• To appeal to millennial gamblers, casinos are trying to get regulators to allow slot machine variations that actually call for skill to win rather than just chance. Video games and pinball are the inspirations, which is funny if you know the early history of pinball machines (they were often used for illegal gambling).

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Even the pope has to start a fight with Trump to get publicity.

Trump's going to need to get the Vatican to pay for a pope fence.

[waffles]

I'm starting to like this Trump fellow.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

[Free Society]

Hi.

[Crusty Juggler]

Save my love through loneliness
Save my love through sorrow
I give you my only-ness
Give me your tomorrow

[MSimon]

Would you have my baby?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyh-0jY2YV4

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

You know he hangs out with thieving kids and dog muck, right?

[R C Dean]

The Pope supports migrants, just not to his country.

[Cytotoxic]

Actually, there's lots of guest workers in the Vatican. So he apparently supports immigrants in his own country as well.

[SFC B]

Given the Vatican's 0% birth rate I'd imagine they need to replace their population somehow.

[DJF]

But only the ones that the Pope and his staff approve of.

I don't think they will let me set up a bed in the Sistine Chapel

[spqr2008]

You could claim sanctuary

[Fist of Etiquette]

The economist who claims that Bernie Sanders' economic agenda will actually increase growth and not utterly destroy us all is nevertheless going to vote for Hillary Clinton in the primaries.

The economy of hedging ones bets.

[LynchPin1477]

I'm going to start replacing "economist" with "fanfic novelist" in my head and see if it makes more or less sense.

[cavalier973]

"The Pee-Wee Herman look-alike..."

[TheZeitgeist]

I'm going to start replacing "economist" with "fanfic novelist" in my head and see if it makes more or less sense.

"Bath salt connoisseur" and it all makes sense now.

[Kevin Sorbos Manful Locks]

I am stealing this. Bravo, good sir.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

If I was voting, and I'm not because well I'm retarded, I'd take my chances with Bernie. Like I mentioned in the past, at least you have a better chance at neutering him and besides his record in VT was more centrist than anything.

Hillary on the other hand is just plain incorrigible and who knows what she'll do with all that power. Plus that cough...yeesh.

[BearOdinson]

I thought you weren't voting because you were Canadian?

[TheZeitgeist]

Canadian, retarded, Justin Bieber, its all the same thing.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I thought that was made clear.

[bacon-magic]

"Canadian chooses Socialist candidate, in other news, the grass is green." /some media derpy guy

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I know but you have to admit my logic that he comes with less baggage has some currency, no?

[Adans smith]

At his age his 'baggage' is down to his knees.

[cavalier973]

Being a socialism enthusiast is a pretty big, smelly bag.

[Ted S.]

Your logic comes with Canadian Tire dollars?

[Cytotoxic]

That's pretty insane. The guy is an outright socialist. Hillary is just a crook.

[Juvenile Bluster]

So, whose desk is this in ENB's tweet?

Has to be Soave, doesn't it?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Well, who else could it be? I mean, that hair.

[LynchPin1477]

Equally as interesting is who put them there, and will there be video?

[Lee G]

Hard drives and condoms?

You're doing it wrong.

[Just say Nikki]

A now-married former Catholic schoolboy should definitely not have that kind of contraband.

[Notorious UGCC]

Robert Poole's.

(who also has a great sense of humor and I'm sure won't be offended)

[Irish ?s ESB]

Nah. She says it's for Reason TV, so probably one of the people who work on the Youtube videos.

[commodious spittoon]

Nobody needs more than 7".

[Always a Carl, Never a Clyde]

It's always a shame when it's floppy.

[TheZeitgeist]

Hence the included hard drive.

[commodious spittoon]

*appreciative applause*

[Always a Carl, Never a Clyde]

thatsthejoke

[Kevin Sorbos Manful Locks]

"Hey baby, wanna see how fast my Solid State Drive is?"

[Medical Physics Guy]

Two terabytes HAWT

[commodious spittoon]

Finally began receiving parts today. Down to the CPU and SSD and I'll be ready to rock this thing.

[Medical Physics Guy]

The guy in the desk across from me is building some insane box. He researches some 3D rendering method. I'll show him that list and see if he drools.

[commodious spittoon]

It's a pretty standard build. The 970 is upper-midrange. A 980ti would be worthy of some drool, but with the new line of cards promised out in the next several months I didn't want to spend the cash. If it's substantially faster I'll probably upgrade next year or whenever prices drop.

[JG43]

Looks like my last build except I used a 960, I7 and 32 GB of 2400 DDR3. Couldn't afford the 980ti either. You'll like it.

[dan'o en barrel]

Respectable setup. Buying the TI wouldn't make sense with the supposed next gen performance boost. Better to buy 970 then equivalent for next gen for the same price.

I'm waiting for Nvidia to release Pascal before I build a new rig. Current setup:ivy bridge@ 4.3ghz/h100 liquid cool/gtx 770/Samsung 840 pro 256gig/16 gig rip jaws@ 2100mhz in a Thermaltake level 10 GT case (in Stormtroopers white)

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

You think a faster computer will let you beat Fist for the first comment? I laugh at your naivete.

[Kevin Sorbos Manful Locks]

Sexy.

[But Enough About Me]

Isn't that what every woman wants? A big, hard drive?

[Robby's Hair]

Has to be Soave, doesn't it?

I can confirm the large box on the left belongs to me.

[Domestic Dissident]

I hear they've been in Welch's possession since his freshman year of college, and he finally decided it was time to give up on the dream and he's chucking them.

[Anomalous]

They're Bailey's. For purely scientific reasons, of course.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Scotty boy.

[JaimeRoberto]

Can't be Gillespie's. His would be leather. Besides, with an Irish name like that, there's certainly no need for the Magnums.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

That seems racist...

[SFC B]

I'd suggest we should ask Irish, but I think there's a conflict of interests.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The feds are dropping charges against the six other employees of gay escort site Rentboy.com, leaving only CEO Jeffrey Hurant facing the court.

Weak as far as PR moves go.

[Tonio]

Well, it's something. You didn't really expect them to back down and admit they were wrong, did you?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Video games and pinball are the inspirations, which is funny if you know the early history of pinball machines (they were often used for illegal gambling).

Comedy Central's Drunk History has the story.

[Florida Man]

My wife loves that show. It's pretty funny.

[waffles]

I didn't know viacom scooped it up. I thought it was a youtube channel. I really enjoyed the Tesla one.

"I'm inventing electricity and you look like an asshole"

[Florida Man]

Did you see "Tesla, master of lightning" documentary? It's pretty good.

[Krabappel]

I really liked the Coca Cola segment in the episode on Atlanta. Jenny Slate is a treasure.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Coca-Cola came from Columbus, GA, though...

[rts]

Original 1977 Star Wars 35mm print has been restored and released online

A restored HD version of the original Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 35mm print has appeared online. While this isn't the first time that attempts have been made to restore Star Wars to its original theatrical version?that's the one without the much-maligned CGI effects and edits of later "special" editions?it is the first to have been based entirely on a single 35mm print of the film, rather than cut together from various sources.

[Lee G]

How much firepower will Disney bring to bear on the perpetrators?

[waffles]

+ one armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Disney is a sentient, multi-limbed beast that has complete control of international IP law. Expect bullets in mailboxes in the very least.

[TheZeitgeist]

Disney is a master of childhood programming.

[Cdr Lytton]

I'm counting on this. As soon as George Lucas's corpse starts to cool, I expect Disney to release HD/Blu-ray versions of the original three with original titling and packaging to make a buck on the enthusiasts. Just Star Wars, not Episode IV: A New Hope. Thank the gods for greedy corporations.

[JWatts]

OMG, that would be awesome. Lucas is such a douche.

[Animal]

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Filter query: 40 year old men living in their mom's basement.

[BearOdinson]

I didn't mind the extra effects, particularly on the streets of Mos Eisley. But FFS HAN SHOT FIRST! And for good reason!!

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

You just made the list.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...accusing her of breaching the confidentiality agreement from back in 2006 that settled her complaint and demanding the money he gave her back.

This was the plot to The Ballad of Billie Jean.

[LynchPin1477]

I remember seeing that on the USA network a long time ago and developing a mini-crush on Billie Jean.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

the early history of pinball machines (they were often used for illegal gambling).

Isn't this Dave and Buster's business model?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Chuck E Cheese too.

[BearOdinson]

Right? If I go to DandBs I spend a couple hundred bucks on games that are random. If I win, I get electronic credits that I can use to buy things. This is called 'fun'.
If I go to the corner loan store, in the back i spend a couple of hundred bucks on games that are random. If I win, I get electronic credits that i can use to buy things. This called a 'felony'.

[cavalier973]

It's interesting that the pope isn't standing at the border of Venezuela begging Chavez, Jr to let all the oppressed and downtrodden into the country.

[LynchPin1477]

To be fair, no one is trying to get in.

[cavalier973]

Why not, though?

(I know why, but why can't the Pope Francis...es and Bernard Sanderses of the world see that economies based on socialist ideas dont ever--EVER--become the worker's utopias that are promised by proponents of socialism.)

[cavalier973]

I apologize for the incorrect punctuation in the previous post. This phone acts as if it was educated in public schools its entire life.

[Lee G]

Stop phoning it in.

[cavalier973]

I'm such a phoney....

*hangs head in shame

[Old Man With Candy]

Teach your phone the fucking subjunctive, while you're at it.

[LynchPin1477]

Yeah.

I wonder - if we ever had a decent number of attempted libertopias, would we admit when they didn't work out the way we intended (because let's be honest, they wouldn't...nothing that large and complicated ever does)? I'd like to think the answer is "yes", or at least, "more often than socialists do".

[cavalier973]

But we have at least two: the U.S is the biggest one, but also the Netherlands before the 20th century.

[cavalier973]

Both are getting less amenable to good living as they abandon libertarian policy.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Do you mean the perfect libertarian paradise? Hayek-La? I think we've seen that the closer countries come, the better life is there, but if there ever was an actual pure libertarian country it would look like Center from Glory Road.

[PapayaSF]

Or at the Mexico/Guatemala border. The Mexicans enforce their own immigration laws with a Trump-like ferocity.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Most nation's do, actually. Despite the constant criticism we receive, the U.S. is on the more permissive end of this issue.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Despite the constant criticism we receive, the U.S. is on the more permissive end of this issue.

Bull-fucking-shit.

Take a look at this map. The country in light blue is the country Fortress America allows visa-free travel. The countries in green are granted the opportunity for a mini-visa (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). Now, compare that to this map of the Schengen area's visa requirements where almost the entirety of the Western Hemisphere is offered visa-free entry for 3 months at a time.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Oof. Too many colors.

[PapayaSF]

What other country has 11+ million illegal immigrants it doesn't try to kick out?

[Rational Exuberance]

What that tells you is the opposite of what you think it does. Countries can have permissive travel visas for people from countries that are unlikely to overstay their visas. European nations have permissive travel visas with most of the rest of the world because they are less desirable places to stay and because you can't wipe your ass without a government permission slip and a tax once you're there.

Travel visas also only tell you something about the population of people who actually enter the country on official carriers; there is no point in having strict visa requirements when illegals mostly come by boat or walk across the border.

[Tonio]

^This.

[Irish ?s ESB]

It's interesting that the Pope doesn't ask himself why people want to come into the United States given that we're evil capitalists, rather than staying in South American countries where socialist parties have held power for 20 years.

[Lee G]

They want our white privilege, obviously.

[LynchPin1477]

Cracker magic

[Lee G]

I LOL'd. Can't wait to use that in a discussion with my Filipino relatives.

[gaoxiaen]

Toilet paper.

[Steve G]

I've checked mine at the door... and apparently lost the ticket

[cavalier973]

Check my privelege, eh? This may take a while, 'cause it's Just. So. Big.

[cavalier973]

Check my privelege, eh? This may take a while, 'cause it's Just. So. Big.

[cavalier973]

I'll have to check it more than once, in fact, because it's Just. So. Big.

[But Enough About Me]

Stop bragging, d00d.

[Medical Physics Guy]

If you are a masochist, raise a question like this around some progressive academic types. Then enjoy a self-righteous half-hour diatribe about how the US is responsible for everything wrong with South America for 75 years.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Argentina just hasn't had enough time to develop. The last hundred years of lurching from socialist kleptocracies to military dictatorships is just a small bump in the road.

[BearOdinson]

It was the US' fault because Pinochet in Chile or something.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Not to mention it was once one of the most prosperous countries in the hemisphere. So sad.

[PapayaSF]

Pope Francis visited the border between Mexico and the United States and appealed to governments to be sympathetic to plight of migrants.

Oh, I'm sympathetic, I just don't want them. Two different things.

And when it come to Muslim migrants, well, there are plenty of majority-Muslim countries in the world. Other than Turkey, who has taken any significant number? And don't they have an explicit religious obligation, laid out in the Koran, to help fellow Muslims? Oh, wait, they also have a religious obligation to spread Islam and take over the world. So Saudi Arabia et al can simultaneously save money, avoid disrupting their own societies, and spread Islam, all at the same time, by insisting that Europe take them!

[PBR Streetgang]

What if, instead of spending $8B on a wall, we spend a fraction of that, charter a bunch of planes and fly the destitute immigrants to the Vatican and the Pope can open the gates to HIS wall and let them in?

[cavalier973]

We could take the $8 billion that Pres. Trump wants to spend building a wall and five every Mexican $1.23 million, and then they won't need to invade us.

[cavalier973]

*give, not "five".

[PBR Streetgang]

Works either way.

[kbolino]

There are only 6,504 Mexicans?

[cavalier973]

It's a joke about a recent Facebook meme....

[JWatts]

Liberal math.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Because there are no jobs or opportunities at the Vatican?

[Lady Bertrum]

Migrants create opportunity. They bring it with them in a little kerchief tied to the end of a stick. They don't usually bring resources or skills, though.

So, obviously, millions of migrants should be welcomed in Vatican City and a utopia of job growth will commence.

[gaoxiaen]

+1 bottle of Gusano Rojo

[Notorious UGCC]

"slot machine variations that actually call for skill to win rather than just chance. Video games and pinball are the inspirations"

skill...pinball machines...let me see...does that remind me of anything?

[Just say Nikki]

He plays by sense of smell.

[LynchPin1477]

I was expecting an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?. I am disappointed.

[cavalier973]

Look up Mr. Nightmare's interactive horror stories on YouTube.

[Atanarjuat]

I'm not a big gambler, but I got dragged to a casino in Atmore, AL, once. I couldn't figure out the slot machines. You don't just pull a lever, you have to make combinations of various intertwining lines on your results to actually win anything, and the employees were less than forthcoming with advice. I lost $10 and wandered out. Apparently some slots do require skill. Also, I was the youngest person in the place by about 4 decades.

[thrakkorzog]

There's really not much to figure out with slots, they're Skinner boxes. You put some money in, push a button, and sometimes money comes out.

[JWatts]

And they have a lot of flashing lights designed to dull the brain into a mild stupor.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Pope Francis also said that Donald Trump is "not Christian" for his anti-immigrant, pro-wall positions.

When did he say that?

[Just say Nikki]

God, HM, if they don't put the least accurate version of a story possible in the links, no one will be able to get properly riled in the comments!

[Heroic Mulatto]

FEELZ!

[Just say Nikki]

Ahem. No one here has feelz. They just think it's really terrible when other people do.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Of course. Absolutely different.

[Adans smith]

Right before bestowing sainthood on John Paul II who cover up child abuse.

[BearOdinson]

The Catholic church was merely providing "sanctuary". Isn't that what the left wants?

[Marshall Gill]

You got any kind of reference for this? I realize that the Church's hands are probably pretty dirty in this regard but I had never heard JPII accused of being complicit.

[cavalier973]

First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.

[Adans smith]

He was in charge during much of the abuse,priests were moved around and admonished all the time.I fail to believe he had no role in the cover up.

[Adans smith]

And the Vatican has never taken any responsibility for the crimes.Fuck them,their worse then Trump.

[Notorious UGCC]

Technically, he didn't -

""A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," Francis said. "This is not in the Gospel."

"Not having heard Trump's border plans independently, Francis said he'd "give him the benefit of the doubt." But he added:

""I'd just say that this man is not Christian if he said it this way.""

[rts]

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian

Like Nehemiah, for instance.

[cavalier973]

Well, Nehemiah was a Hebrew, so maybe the Pope is right...

[Jerryskids]

Like I said - Trump's real beef is that the Pope basically said he doesn't actually know who Trump is or what he said.

[BearOdinson]

I think i would be more impressed if Trump talked about bringing down walls. Like Joshua did at Jericho. That would be cool. (Yes, believe me I know that it was God who did it, Joshua was just leading the people. i wasn't always a Germanic neo-pagan!)

[Enough About Pailn]

Dear Pope,

When the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, what happened to its citizens?

Best,
The Donald

[Notorious UGCC]

Don't worry, Donald, they kept one of the hookers.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

This thread makes me smile.

[EMD]

St. Ronnie.

[Adans smith]

The Vatican has been rife with cover ups and corruption since day one. Jon Paul II covered for child abusers and is going to be a SAINT? And this Pope is a commie .Please go back home and choke on pasta. Oh,and Trump is an ass,goes without saying.

[dan'o en barrel]

Francis is Argentino. Would be more realistic to hope that he chokes on steak smothered in chimichurry sauce

[BearOdinson]

"Pope Francis visited the border between Mexico and the United States and appealed to governments to be sympathetic to plight of migrants"

How many of these poor "refugees" has the Vatican taken in?

[Tonio]

I will give Bergoglio (aka Pope Francis) a partial pass on this. The Vatican has bath and shower facilities that anyone may use and which were opened for use by the homeless of Rome. Granted, that's very small potatoes, but it is something.

[BearOdinson]

I appreciate the info. I had not heard that anywhere else. But considering the gold and art the Vatican has, I agree that is pretty small potatoes.

[BearOdinson]

Reminds of the joke that ends:
Give him his quarter back and tell him to go to Hell!

[JWatts]

"The Vatican has bath and shower facilities that anyone may use and which were opened for use by the homeless of Rome. "

So, if we build a Wall between the US and Mexico but put in bath and shower facilities for the homeless, then we're good?

[B.P.]

Do SS officers on the ratline count?

[GILMORE?]

I again applaud Scott for his high news-density-PM-linkage. Its like he actually reads the paper or something. Internet 1.0.

it also frees up the commentariat to focus on news-to-amuse.

e.g.

- Crazy Bitch Loves to Fly

its actually pretty sad.

"Hartman has given different reasons for her airport compulsion, saying it is like climbers who scale mountains "because they are there," referring to feeling pressured to go to airports, and saying she wanted to be arrested so she could tell her story, according to media reports."

- The Sun Also Rises: With a Vengeance

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital are preparing to perform the first penis transplant in the U.S. The recipient will be a veteran injured in war.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"Sir, would you like Black, Yellow, Brown, Dark Brown, or White?"
"What are the differences?"
"Some women will tell you some things, most agree on ..."
"You know what, which one gets me free college?"
"I'm sorry?"
"I mean, can I qualify for free college if I have "racially diverse" genitalia?"
"Only in California."
"I'll take Black then; Hello Rio!"

[gaoxiaen]

Can I get something besides human?

[BearOdinson]

I thought your first link was to that story earlier about that British outfit trying to teach dogs to fly.

And that second link is the single most important medical advance ever in the history of mankind. Show the Lorena Bobbits of the world that she doesn't scare us!!

[Homple]

"Isn't it pretty to think so?"

[Mad Scientist]

Fortunately, no one has ever tried to sneak into the Vatican, so the Pope has no use for walls.

[paranoid android]

Clearly you're not familiar with the life and deeds of Ezio Auditore.

[Notorious UGCC]

They didn't have to sneak in, the Pope admitted them -

"Immediately upon becoming Pope, Pius XII responded to Mussolini's anti-Jewish legislation by appointing several Jewish scholars who had been dismissed from the university to positions inside the Vatican. Among them was the distinguished Jewish cartographer, Roberto Almagia, a professor at the University of Rome since 1915. On the day after his dismissal, Almagia was appointed director of the geography section of the Vatican Library. While working there he completed an exceptional four-volume study of the Vatican's cartographic holdings.

"Another dismissed Jewish scholar, Professor Giorgio Levi della Vida, a world authority on Islam, was also given a job in the Vatican Library, cataloguing the Arabic manuscripts."

[Notorious UGCC]

Following the Nazi occupation of Italy, the Pope ordered Rome's Catholic institutions to open themselves to the Jews, sheltering 4715 of the 5715 listed for deportation by the Nazis in 150 Catholic institutions. 477 Jews were sheltered in the Vatican itself. As German round-ups continued in Northern Italy, the Pope opened his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, to take in thousands of Jews and authorized institutions across the north to do the same.

[BearOdinson]

I have my issues with Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular. But, I have never thought the criticism of the church in regards to WWII was fair.

[Adans smith]

That Pope seemed to do as much as he could to help the Jews.Maybe the one good thing the Vatican has done in hundreds of years.

[PapayaSF]

I agree. And the whole thing needs historical context. From 1917 onward, Europe and the rest of the world was scared shitless by the Soviet Union. The stories of oppression and atrocities had a lot to do with many people not having "modern" attitudes towards fascism and the Nazis, who were often seen as a bulwark against Bolshevism.

[Notorious UGCC]

PS, Mad Scientist, thank you for the softball. Much appreciated!

[Irish ?s ESB]

Mother Jones of all places is highly skeptical of the economist who said all those nice things about Bernie.

"The second line of defense for Sanders' supporters is that no one has proven that Friedman is wrong. In fact, the critics are "the establishment of the establishment": just a bunch of Wall Street shills on Hillary's payroll who have it in for Bernie. I'm at a loss about how to respond to this. Obviously you can't prove that a forecast of the future is wrong. But you can say that Friedman is forecasting a sustained level of economic growth that's literally never happened before in history. Not here, not in Denmark, not anywhere. Mature economies simply don't grow 5 percent a year for a decade. Labor productivity doesn't double just because you create a bunch of social welfare programs. The number of people in the labor force doesn't skyrocket to new records even in the face of increasing rates of boomer retirement."

[LynchPin1477]

There's hope?

[PBR Streetgang]

Wow. When Kevin Drum says your socialist utopian projections are delusional...

[Brett L]

Well he's staying bought by Hillary.

[JWatts]

This!

[Heroic Mulatto]

Iraqi refugees returning from Finland kneel down and kiss the ground after arriving at Baghdad airport, February 18, 2016. Thousands of Iraqi refugees who arrived in Finland last year have decided to cancel their asylum applications and to return home voluntarily, citing family issues and disappointment with life in the frosty Nordic country. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousil

[Lee G]

Pussies

[Heroic Mulatto]

They stayed longer in the snow than some here would.

[Lee G]

I'm betting it was the food.

[gaoxiaen]

They probably never tried the Pizza Berlusconi.

[Just say Nikki]

Avoiding snow and cold is the only rational choice for thinking peoples.

[commodious spittoon]

Amen. Highs this week have been in the seventies. I'm drowsing off with the door open to let in the air. Winter can suck it.

[Brett L]

Thus my commitment to living. No more than an hour's drive north of I-10

[Medical Physics Guy]

This solves everything. Send all the refugees to small towns the freezing cold where they need to learn a Scandinavian language. Those who still want to stay, are probably going to be good productive EU citizens and are worth welcoming. All the trashy types will rescind their claims oppression and get on the next plane home.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Poland literally said this in a hearing a while back.

What a face she has at the end. YouTube.

Welfare is attractive and safe, work is hard. As a refugee I shouldn't have to work. Ergo, Germany uber alles.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Link is busted, whoopsie.

Better now?

[PapayaSF]

Greenland needs settlers!

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"Looks like those refugees were Finnished."

San Diego....

[Crusty Juggler]

Biggest losers: Big Vodka and Big Sauna.

[Adans smith]

Don't forget pickled fish.

[Brett L]

Uhh. I don't think Big Vodka was getting ahead.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

"Disappointment with life." See, they're not so different from Finns.

[Rich]

Ahem. Finland is the sixth happiest country.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Ahem. Being unhappy is a way of standing out and, for Scandinavians, standing out is against the law.

[EMD]

Talk about White Privilege!!!

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Man, those comments are fantastic. "Adequate and equitable taxation will do this. In America, mention happiness and you'll get laughed off the stage." I'm guessing this guy doesn't mean "equitable" as a less progressive tax code.

[GILMORE?]

North Korean Space Junk Accomplishing Core-Mission of Pissing Everyone The Fuck Off

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Well then, execute the scientists involved and start over. Log'tar Ogar, Un-chief!

[commodious spittoon]

The Norks are orcs?

[Kevin Sorbos Manful Locks]

zug zug

[Unicorn Abattoir]

President Barack Obama will become the first sitting president to visit Cuba in 88 years.

And he will marvel in awe at the level of income equality among the common people.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

http://spacing.ca/montreal/200.....old-buses/

Will he ride in a Montreal city bus?

[cavalier973]

And how happy they are. And healthy; they are mighty healthy. Cubans dont die from overeating, you know--just proving how her superior Cuban society is to U.S. American society.

[Adans smith]

And he'll ruin it by coming back.

[Suthenboy]

Yep. I can't wait to hear what the fuckwit has to say.

[Always a Carl, Never a Clyde]

Police Criticized Over "Two Wife Policy" Detention

The Communist Party-run paper cited police as saying that an office worker admitted he made a copy of the front of the newspaper's January 14 edition and replaced an article about the agenda for an annual session of the city's government political advisory body with one about a purported plan by city officials to introduce a two-wife policy.

Other rumor-related detentions include those of a man warning of zombies in Guangzhou last year, and a Shandong farmer who claimed to have killed an alien in 2013.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Related:

China's Foreign Ministry warned the United States on Tuesday there would be "serious consequences" if a plaza in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington was named after a pro-democracy dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

... "The U.S. has been at its wits' end in dealing with China as it is reluctant to employ military threats or economic sanctions that may backfire. The only option for Washington seems to be petty actions that disturb China," it said in an editorial.

So why take the bait?

[Always a Carl, Never a Clyde]

Does it hurt the feelings of the Chinese people?

Don't just name the plaza after Liu Xiaobo. Paint his face on a bunch of subs and sell them to Taiwan.

[Heroic Mulatto]

How do you say "trigger warning" in Mandarin?

[Libertarian]

tligger warwing?

[Tejicano]

So why take the bait?

Ha! You obviously don't know the Chinese very well. They would react exactly the same way if you literally had their testicles in a vise.

[sarcasmic]

Caitlyn Jenner: 'I Get More Flak For Being Conservative Than Being Transgender'

http://dailycaller.com/2016/02.....ansgender/

Well, yeah. It's called tolerance, Bruce. Of course liberals are going to give you flack for being conservative. That means you're intolerant, and tolerant people don't tolerate intolerance. Besides that, being that you are conservative, you must be lying. After all, intolerant conservatives are intolerant of transgenders. You are intolerant of yourself! You must be! You can't help it, being an intolerant conservative! And you're a traitor to the other tolerant transgenders who are liberals! They only want what is best for you! You're a jerk! You're intolerant! I hope you die! Die you conservative piece of shit! Die in a fire!

[Medical Physics Guy]

Caitlyn Jenner is strong and brave.

[Irish ?s ESB]

You'd think she'd get more flak for killing that person or willingly marrying into the Kardashian family.

[sarcasmic]

Being a conservative is worse than killing someone. Duh. Everyone knows this.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

You know what's worse then being a conservative?

Being a libertarian.

[Crusty Juggler]

"buckle up, buckaroo"

[Marshall Gill]

"Can we call you Bruce, just to keep things straight?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_p0CgPeyA

[Crusty Juggler]

The number of white dudes becoming federal judges has plummeted under Obama

Reason staff, learn from the Post's wonderful headlines.

[Lee G]

You should learn not to link to a paywall.

You're fired.

[Crusty Juggler]

if only there was a way around that...

[John]

Nothing invokes confidence in someone's technical knowledge like them using the term "dude". Seriously, does "wonk" just mean douche bag who is talking out of his ass about a subject he knows nothing about?

[Brett L]

I wish angry spirits were a thing. Seeing Bill Buckley get up and eat the livera of people who write like this would be so wonderful.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Angry spirits are why the economy goes down. We must increase our offerings to the government to appease the animal spirits!

Lord Keynes the Prophet has spoken!

[Suthenboy]

A lot of things have plummeted under Obumbles.

[Certified Public Asshat]

One day I will stop, I promise...

A National Infrastructure Program Is a Smart Idea We Won't Do Because We Are Dysfunctional

Interest rates are very low right now on a historical basis. If you ever wanted to, say, borrow a trillion bucks to finance a national infrastructure program to repair our crumbling roads and bridges, this would not be a bad time to do it. Oil prices are extremely low right now. If you ever wanted to, say, impose a gas tax that could be used to fund a national infrastructure program to repair our crumbling roads and bridges, this would not be a bad time to do it. While the official unemployment rate is relatively low, certain demographic segments of our society?particularly young people and minorities?are suffering from high unemployment. If you ever wanted to, say, start a nationwide government-funded jobs program to put these unemployed people to work, thereby unleashing a great deal of economic potential and mitigating a variety of social problems linked to unemployment and poverty and, in the process, repairing our crumbling roads and bridges, this would not be a bad time to do it.

[blighted non millenial]

Shovel fucking ready even.

[GILMORE?]

""our crumbling roads and bridges""

Lies

And not only are they lies, but they're lies that have NOTHING TO DO WITH FEDERAL SPENDING.

e.g.
" - 98% of US infrastructure is either the responsibility of the private business system or state and local government."

and re: Bridges?

""It seems that of the 100 most heavily traveled bridges in the US by rank order, and which are in need of serious repair, 80% of them are in California...Moreover, they are overwhelmingly state highway and municipal road and street bridges located in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Stated differently, Governor Moonbeam has not miraculously solved California endemic fiscal crisis; he's just neglected the local infrastructure"".

[Certified Public Asshat]

Good link

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

- 98% of US infrastructure is either the responsibility of the private business system or state and local government.

You know damn well what the leftist response to that statement would be ? The reason our roads are crumbling is because Republicans, in a Randian libertarian fit, privatized our roads to companies who did not take care of them.

The idea that roads were being neglected for other priorities or were neglected in order to become "crumbling infrastructure" that the Federal government would pay to fix (governments would engage in rent seeking? ? horror of horrors!) would never dawn on them.

[GILMORE?]

What's doubly-absurd about the "infrastructure" moaning from the left is that

a) all their facts are wrong

there is no dearth of infrastructure spending or taxes - in fact we have huge amounts of funding and besides = most of that funding comes from sources other than federal taxes or spending; its mostly local bond-issues or state general revenue. The federal government has almost zero role in the whole infrastructure-funding system because of the obvious fact that the funding would be entirely political and have zero ability to prioritize based on need.

and besides - hardly any of the stuff they claim is "crumbling" actually is. As noted in the above link - the majority of the thousands and thousands of things they insist are "broken" are actually simply under-utilized and ignored because they're un-needed

b) their 'solution' (huge federal spending bills) for the non existent problem is the worst possible way of addressing the subject.

its like saying we need to invest in Aircraft carriers to address crop-dusting needs in the Mid-West. The "solution" is the most expensive, least-relevant means of making sure the 'infrastructure-supply' responds to demand and utilization.

[GILMORE?]

"Quim Charger
Hamilton Nolan
2/18/16 1:46pm

The deep south, broadly speaking, is simply holding back America. There can be no other position.""

Yet most of the "crumbling infrastructure" is in liberal states where taxes have been diverted to cover pension costs.

This is why i can't read Gawker. the combination of whopping ignorance and smug is overwhelming.

[Irish ?s ESB]

The deep south is where the largest proportion of black people are, so this guy seems pretty racist.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Duh, because all their tax money is going to pay welfare cases in the deep south! Mississippi gets more in federal money than it pays out!

And I guess "broadly speaking" means he includes the midwestern states as the deep south.

[cavalier973]

I agree; the South is holding back the rest of America. It is past time that the Southern states were expelled from the Union, so that America can be great again.

[Hyperbolical]

If we actually had crumbling roads and bridges. Here in Texas there is road building and expansion almost everywhere and very little of it is using federal money. Maybe those states and communities with "crumbling roads and bridges" should adjust their priorities instead of raising everyone's gas taxes.

[GILMORE?]

Russia = Shows Hand Re: Limits to its Committment to Syria

Basically, seems like all Russia wants is for the West to accept "Assad aint going nowhere" - they don't really care about fighting endlessly to recapture the whole country.

Their bluster about a "world war" breaking out is actually consistent with this - they seem to suggest that once Aleppo falls, that everyone should admit Assad's regime aint falling, and agree on some "Stage 2" where Russia fucks off and lets everyone else try and destroy ISIS.

[Crusty Juggler]

I dare you to read this and still feel good about tipping

You have been dared, people.

[Crusty Juggler]

When you're a woman living on tips?even if you're making a lot of money on tips, which most women aren't?you're subject to the whims of the customer, and really encouraged by management to objectify yourself or subject yourself to objectification to make money in tips.

[Crusty Juggler]

The idea that the restaurant industry was the only industry that didn't have to pay its workers was actually codified into the very first minimum wage law that passed in 1938 as part of the New Deal under FDR. It said that you have the right to the minimum wage either through wages or through tips, which essentially gave tipped workers the right to a zero dollar minimum wage.

Also, slavery.

[PapayaSF]

I recently had an exchange on Whisper with someone claiming that technology controls us, has slaves and kills us, that human trafficking is "at its highest level right now," that our phones are made by slaves, and that the average US citizen has 40 slaves.

[waffles]

Awesome. That feels empowering.

[Marshall Gill]

Yes, but are they orphan slaves?

[EMD]

If I had 40 slaves I'd have written at least 3 books by now.

[OneOut]

I'm just happy to learn by reading this article that I shouldn't have to worry about keeping my customers happy.

Cuz that is something ism.

Maybe sexism, jobism, raceism, but definitely something badism.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"When you're a woman living on tips?even if you're making a lot of money on tips, which most women aren't?you're subject to the whims of the customer, and really encouraged by management to objectify yourself or subject yourself to objectification to make money in tips."

Weird. I didn't realize all the waitresses who were serving me were acting like total whores. This explains why even in fancy restaurants the female staff is dressed like they're at Hooters.

[Brett L]

"Darren over there has 46 pieces of flair."

"So, more flair?"

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

I thought it was Brian?

[Brett L]

Yeah. Sorry. It's been a while.

[Libertarian]

Well, then. I'm going to quit tipping. Just my little way of sticking it to the man.

[sarcasmic]

Studies have shown that tipping is not an effective incentive for performance in servers.

As a former server, I call bullshit.

It also creates an environment in which people of color, young people, old people, women, and foreigners tend to get worse service than white males.

You get what you pay for. And besides that, white males in suits who gave off a lawyer or doctor vibe always got shitty service from me because as a general rule, people in those professions tip like shit. If at all.

[Suthenboy]

"As a former server, I call bullshit."

That is correct. In the places I go regularly the staff that waits on me brings my order without asking. I walk in, say hello, and my food and drink appears in front of me. They know what I want because I always get the same thing, they are very friendly and my service is stellar.

I tip really well for good service and they know it. Also, my wife gives them bars of her fancy soap. Hell, we even buy movie tickets or gift certificates for birthday gifts to one guy who has been serving us for almost ten years.

To say that tipping isnt an incentive to provide good service is insane.

[sarcasmic]

To say that tipping isnt an incentive to provide good service is insane.

The people who say that refuse to admit that anyone is personally responsible for what happens in life. Outside forces must be to blame. It can't be their fault. That's not fair.

[JWatts]

No, the people who say that are justifying their own habit of leaving shitty tips.

[sarcasmic]

In a tip-based system, nonwhite servers make less than their white peers for equal work.

Being that I worked in Maine which is 95% white, I can't make an informed comment on that.

Consider also the power imbalance between tippers, who are typically male, and servers, 70 percent of whom are female, and consider that the restaurant industry generates five times the average number of sexual harassment claims per worker.

That's just how the restaurant industry works. Like construction. It attracts jerks who can't hack it at a "normal" job. Of course there is going to be harassment. Besides that, it's fun and how you deal with stress. And it goes both ways as well.

And that in many instances employers have allegedly misused tip credits, which let owners pay servers less than minimum wage if tipping makes up the difference.

My hourly wage as a server was half minimum wage. The taxes on my declared tips ate it up completely, so my paychecks were usually zero. Boo fucking hoo.

[John]

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever read. Is the Washington Post running some kind of sheltered workshop for retarded people? Is helping the mentally challenged some kind of a big thing for Bezos?

[sarcasmic]

You claim to be a lawyer. How do you tip? 10%? 15%? Just asking because I used to work at a place frequented by lawyers, and they all tipped like shit.

[John]

Lawyers are assholes. And I tip mostly based on how big the server's tits are. Male servers are usually out of luck.

Seriously, my mother worked in bars before I was born. I have always been a big tipper unless the server does something to piss me off. Then I will happily leave zero. But they really have to be a fuck up to get me to do that. And I don't mean bad service because the kitchen screwed up. I mean being a bitch or not giving a shit.

[sarcasmic]

I rarely leave zero. Someone has to really screw up for that. If they keep my drink full, are available when I need extra napkins (for the kid), and are generally friendly, I'll leave a good tip. I do 20% in my head and round up to the nearest five (It's a psychological thing. The difference between an eight dollar tip and a ten dollar tip is huge when you're on the receiving end.). After all, if I don't have money for a decent tip, I don't have money to go out to eat.

[John]

I have probably done it less than ten times in my life. It has to be something really bad. Worse than failing to fill my drink.

[sarcasmic]

Another reason I tip well is because the kid leaves a mess. Sometimes the servers see the kid and the service goes downhill because they know they will have a mess to clean up. And they clean it up without a good tip. The ones who are nice anyway get extra.

[Brett L]

Yes. We only go to the Mexican restaurant by our house, but minimum 25% with my two year old. Usually more like 1/3rd.

[EMD]

I once left ten cents for a server who when served me the wrong dish, told me to 'eat it anyway.' Leaving zero sometimes looks like you forgot.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

I'll round out the dollar, exactly because of that. I want them to know that they fucked up bad enough to piss me off.

[sarcasmic]

As one bartender I worked with was fond of saying "No tip is too big, and no tip is too big."

[Suthenboy]

Last saturday night my wife and I went to eat at an Eyetalian place. The service was awful. I noticed they had three waiters for about 100 customers and 2/3 of the tables were people with no food on their tables. The wait staff were running as fast as they could go and were apologizing profusely to everyone. When I noticed we had been waiting an hour for our food I remarked to the waiter (owner's son) "Someone didn't show up for work, right" . He answered "Several someones. I am sorry, my dad is in the kitchen by himself and going as fast as he can go."

Also, they didn't have any tabasco sauce. The waiter was visibly dismayed when I had to get our own tabasco out of the car. Yes, we keep tabasco in the car.

The experience sucked but it was plain that they were doing the best they could. I left a 20 dollar tip on a 40 dollar bill.

I know what you mean John. They have to be deliberately nasty or indifferent to not get a tip.

[Crusty Juggler]

Yes, we keep tabasco in the car.

Proving once again why you are our hipster-in-residence.

[Suthenboy]

I guess I am.

[sarcasmic]

One day I showed up to work and there was like one or two cooks in the kitchen, and the rest of the work was being done by the owner and some of the bussers. The morning staff thought it would be fun if they all went to the beach right after showing up to work. They were all fired. So the kitchen was running like shit. I got a father with his two sons at a table, and informed them immediately that their food was going to take a while. Like an hour. I bought the father a beer after he told me they had been driving from Tennessee or something all day long. At the end of the day the bill was I think $69. He gave me a Benjamin and told me to keep the change.

[sarcasmic]

Yes, we keep tabasco in the car.

I hate that stuff. I like Cholula or Sriracha. Whatever. When I used to drink coffee I'd keep non-dairy creamer in my car. Me and dairy are not friends, and nobody carries the non-dairy stuff at the drive-thru. So I understand. Well, kind of. I don't understand why you like spicy vinegar, but otherwise I understand.

[Marshall Gill]

I don't understand why you like spicy vinegar

Because it is spicy?

[cavalier973]

Who were the best tippers?

[Mr Lizard]

Well pretty much all of your mothers always left me a little extra on the nightstand

[sarcasmic]

Blue collar folks. I'm guessing they had friends or family in the business and understood that we paid our rent with our tips, not our paychecks.

[Gray Ghost]

Who were the best tippers?

People in, or had worked in, the restaurant/hospitality industry. I'm an ex-hotel worker, and I probably overtip. Like sarcasmic wrote, if I don't have the money for the tip, I'm not going out.

That said, I will usually ask for the manager before it gets to the point of stiffing a shitty server.

Discussions of bad tippers is going to get ethnically insensitive, really fast.

[sarcasmic]

Discussions of bad tippers is going to get ethnically insensitive, really fast.

Yeah. I thought about a totally honest comment on the subject, and decided against it. I'll just pick on white lawyers.

[Suthenboy]

That is what I have always heard.

[cavalier973]

Lawyers; you know how THEY are.

Well, you know'em!

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Ethnically insensitive or racial insensitive?

[SFC B]

Yes.

[PBR Streetgang]

I'm a lawyer and generally tip around 20%. Even the bad ones I tip 10% if they appear to be trying. The ones that simply don't give a damn get nothing.

[sarcasmic]

What made that job even worse was that they lawyers always paid with American Express which was no doubt an expense account. It wasn't even their money and they still tipped like shit.

[Cytotoxic]

That's funny because I only ever tip as high as 15% and usually 10%. I'm just not that into tipping.

[OneOut]

One of my hangups about tipping is this.

Why should a server who spends just as much time bringing you a burger and fries that cost $10 or $15 get less than someone who does the same work bringing you a plate that costs $50 or $75 ?

As the check goes up my tip percentage goes down

I'm happier tipping $5 on a $10 burger than I am $20 on a $100 meal.

I also have a tendency to tip adult women more than the sugar babies who flash their tits. I figure an adult woman might be raising children by themselves or might just be the head of household more so than a college aged girl so that's where my largesse goes.

[sarcasmic]

OneOut: I'm glad I am not a waiter anymore. I would have trouble overcoming the urge to spill a beer on your lap.

[grrizzly]

As I said below I don't mind paying for service separately at a restaurant. Not convinced that it's the most efficient arrangement but it doesn't bother me. But what I really dislike is the holier-than-thou attitude of current and former service industry workers who push social norms for higher and higher tips when they are just greedy.

[sarcasmic]

That college aged girl might be paying for tuition, books, clothes, rent, and everything else with those tips. Maybe even a kid too, from a mistake she made in high school. Trying to better her life. So what if she is using her assets to get a bigger tip? She will only have them for so many years. Who the fuck are you to judge her like that? Base the tip on the service. Period. Don't judge the person. Judge their job. Asshole.

[Not a Libertarian]

Perhaps that impulse will be included in your next version upgrade.

[sarcasmic]

Canadians are notorious for being terrible tippers.

[Mr Lizard]

I'm not even going to quote the article. They do enjoy conflating multiple ideas into one paragraph to try to prove their point. Also they offer exactly 0 citations for any of their positive claims.

[GILMORE?]

these people are so fucking horrible.

every "solution" they think up has the same obvious consequence = Kill Jobs.

[Notorious UGCC]

While this guy pretends to believe that tipping doesn't improve customer service, here is a socialist who is aware of the connection.

"In Defense of Soviet Waiters

"Perhaps it's time to look back with a bit of nostalgia on the surly Communist waiters of yore, whose orientation toward the system was at least transparent....

"...Take away the lash of the boss, and you are suddenly forced to confront service employees as human beings with human emotions, without their company-supplied masks of enforced good cheer. Revealing the true condition of service work can be a de-fetishizing experience, one just as jarring ? and quite a bit closer to home ? than finding out how your iPhone was manufactured. In both cases, we are made to confront unpleasant truths about the power relations that structure all of our experiences as consumers."

[Notorious UGCC]

Myself, I generally do 20% and round up, unless they spit in the drink or something equivalent.

On one rare occasion when I didn't have enough change for a good tip, the waitress gave a receipt with the suggested (higher) tip underlined.

[Notorious UGCC]

So I said, "how can I make it up to you," and...oops, wrong forum.

[Atanarjuat]

oops, wrong forum

No, it's not.

[paranoid android]

"...Take away the lash of the boss, and you are suddenly forced to confront service employees as human beings with human emotions, without their company-supplied masks of enforced good cheer.

Well, as a socialist, I trust he does know a thing or two about "enforced good cheer".

[waffles]

I get better service for being a white man? Cool. That's a good tip.

[waffles]

Tip your ski instructor!

[Notorious UGCC]

And don't forget to tip Officer Friendly when he comes by your business.

[grrizzly]

Tip your ski instructor!
That's why I hate tipping. I have no problem giving tips at a sit-down restaurant. But the uncertainty about it -- when and whether I'm supposed to tip and how much -- degrades interactions with people if I deal with them in new or unusual circumstances.

[waffles]

When I taught ski lessons full time I never expected a tip but really really appreciated it. It's only awkward if you make it that way.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

Amen. I think it's annoying that tips are expected for services that are already priced out. I get that the service of food is "on top of" the price of the food itself, but why am I supposed to tip the barber? "Here's an extra $5, thanks for not making be bleed"

[OneOut]

Mitt Romney lost the election because he didn't tip his garbage collector.

True story.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Nice, I'll stop tipping, so long as they don't ban tipping.

[GILMORE?]

From the Department of "We'll Get Around to It Sooner or Later"....

Ohio tests 10,000 rape kits to clear backlogs, hundreds indicted

"This is a tremendous milestone," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. "The testing of these 10,000 kits has helped identify hundreds of alleged assailants, many of whom repeatedly committed violent attacks."

Basically they seem to be admitting that serial rapists have been roaming wild because they're too fucking lazy and inefficient to every connect the dots?

Clearly this is a sign we need more Government Spending, rather than cuts to wasteful bullshit.

[Just say Nikki]

Too lazy to connect the dots? I think you mean too lazy to even plot them.

[John]

And I don't know about you but the fact that they allowed 10,000 rape kits to languish untested doesn't fill me with confidence that the tests were done properly or that none of those people indicted are innocent.

[Libertarian]

Manufacturing rape kits and then not testing them kinda defeats the purpose, no? It reminds me of the Seinfeld bit where he tells the car rental agent, "oh, you know how to TAKE reservations, you just don't know how to HOLD reservations."

[Crusty Juggler]

Clearly this is a sign we need more Government Spending

At the very least we need space to store more untested rape kits.

[GILMORE?]

""Put em in the bathroom with the sign, "Beware of the Leopard"""

[Irish ?s ESB]

I think we can all agree that it's way more important that we spend money throwing pot dealers in jail than use that money to test rape kits.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Ohio? Warty's not been around much lately.

I have to wonder how many of the 10,000 kits pointed to Warty.

[Steve G]

Damn refresh

[Steve G]

Wait, where's Warty?

[Suthenboy]

How much does the system get paid to arrest and convict rapists?

How much does the system get paid to make drug busts? Write traffic citations?

I have a pretty good idea why those kits were backlogged.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Obama Back From Trip: WE SHOULD BE MORE LIKE CUBA!

[cavalier973]

Bill Cosby is filing a civil suit against one of the women who has accused him of sexual assault, accusing her of breaching the confidentiality agreement from back in 2006 that settled her complaint and demanding the money he gave her back.

Cosby: "We had a deal!"

"I am altering,the deal. Pray that I do not alter it further..."

[John]

Good for him. She took the check. She ought to have to live by the agreement.

[Mr Lizard]

Patriarchy: Now measured in hours. Damn it's good to be a (privileged) gangster

http://mobile.reuters.com/arti.....2220080404

[John]

We all know men make more than women. So they also bring home a pay check

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

All that economic activity creates housework.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Fun stuff, but there seems to be a lot wrong with this study.

[Notorious UGCC]

Hey, that study was in 2008.

Since that time, Obama was elected, and more men had the extra time at home to do housework.

[cavalier973]

What does one do with this information?

It was really bad in the 1970's, the article claims, because women did an average of 28 hours of housework a week. Is that in addition to working outside the home, or did wives during that time tend to be stay-at-home wives/mothers?

[EMD]

Then why do I do 75% of the laundry?

[Crusty Juggler]

Why hasn't the starting running back for my Buffalo Bills (yeah, my), the second most depressing franchise in all professional football, been arrested for his role in the bar brawl that badly injured two off-duty cops?

According to law enforcement officials, tension between the District Attorney's office and PPD has risen over the last few days because of the delay in charging McCoy and three other men for their alleged role in a fight at Recess Lounge in Old City early on the morning of Feb. 7. Sources told CSNPhilly.com that the D.A.'s office is hesitant to issue warrants because it has questions about the conduct of the officers that evening, including that the officers did not call 9-1-1 during the incident and whether they were drinking to excess.

WARNING AUTOPLAY

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Look, don't the Bills have it hard enough?

[Brett L]

3-1 seems like a fair fight.

[Loki]

President Barack Obama will become the first sitting president to visit Cuba in 88 years.

I wonder if he'll walk around smugly lecturing Cuban peasants about how good they have it in the "worker's paradise" and how EVUL capitalism is?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Bernie would.

[Sevo]

After blowing the gas tax money on bike-paths and choo-choos, CA finds it doesn't have enough to fix the roads, so the poor dears are asking for a new tax based on miles driven:

"California Mileage Tax Would Charge Drivers Based on Distance Driven"
[...]
"State transit officials note that there's not nearly enough money available to fix the many bridges and roads in California that are in desperate need of repair.
A federal highway fund, based on taxes on fuel, is expected to run dry this summer...."
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/n.....70311.html

The feds are out of dough for the same reason; Pelosi is very pleased about raiding it for bike paths in Marin County.
Oh, and not a word on how they intent to establish the distance driven; Papiere bitte!

[Suthenboy]

There is no way this will result in massive fraud.

[TheZeitgeist]

Oh, and not a word on how they intent to establish the distance driven; Papiere bitte!

Police-statey way is to "need" trackers in the cars. Common sense vehicle control.

A bureaucratically weasel-way would be to assess fee between odo readings when vehicle title transfers.

Probable weasel compromise is all cars x years or newer need Nannytron installed; older ones get the paperwork shaft on the title transfers.

[Mad Scientist]

My neighbor works for CalTrans. You wouldn't believe the hoops they have to jump through to do anything resembling road maintenance. Rocks fell down the cliff face and landed on the road after a storm? Well, they can't just be pushed over the side, where they would have gone anyway if the road wasn't there. No, they have to be loaded into a truck and taken to a landfill. A job that should take one guy driving up the road with a plow blade now requires a truck, a trailer with a front end loader, and a crew to flag traffic while the loader is on the road, complete with a pilot vehicle. The reason California roads and bridges are in such horrible condition is because the state has managed to find ways to make things cost 10 times what they should, so there's only enough money to do 10% of the maintenance.

New revenue sources won't change a damn thing.

[GILMORE?]

". A job that should take one guy driving up the road with a plow blade now requires a truck, a trailer with a front end loader, and a crew to flag traffic while the loader is on the road, complete with a pilot vehicle. "

It took NYC 30 years to add about 5 miles of an extra lane to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

It cost billions. Everyone knew it was because the unions were bleeding every cent they could out of it. No one ever did a thing about it.

[buybuydandavis]

But in much, much more important news Pope Francis also said that Donald Trump is "not Christian" for his anti-immigrant, pro-wall positions.

According the His Popeyness, isn't the catholic church The Church, and anyone who doesn't belong to it "not Christian"?

Isn't that kind of the point of Catholicism?

[TheZeitgeist]

Yeah, and what about that shtick where everyone goes to live in eternal Hieronymus Bosch painting because not Catholic? Hello Popey?

[Sevo]

"Hieronymus Bosch painting"

Found an original in a museum in Brugge; as advertised. Spent better part of an hour looking at it.

[Mustang]

Hello.

This seems like a nice place to settle down. Anyone else on this property? No? Oh, that's good.

[cavalier973]

Bernie Sanders has his own icon, now

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Can I get this shirt in brown?

Hahahahahaha!

In America, they wore silver.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Now that I look more closely, it is pretty Art Deco.

From a distance, the roundel looks vaguely KdF.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

OT: Does anyone watch Man Seeking Woman? Last night's episode had a rather good lesson on the consequences of "there oughta be a law"-ism.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

I watched the first 3 episodes. It was awful. They spent half an episode milking a joke about a guy's ex dating Hitler.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

Yeah, it's a weird one. That's why I like it, though. That, and all the Hitler representation. 😉

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

TERROR! TERROR, I tell you!!

Fucking white people, liking things! You are RUINING utopia, dammit!

[Notorious UGCC]

"It's a "reasonably budgeted" action comedy aimed specifically (but not exclusively, of course) at young white males. And it's going to make unholy amounts of money here and abroad."

And I suppose it won't make any money in the Asian market? Just from those horrible white people?

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

It can't possibly! It was aimed SPECIFICALLY at young white males...

The entertainment industry is lost. [frownie face]

[Rhywun]

outside-the-box marketing triumph

Marketing? I haven't seen any commercials for it. Never even heard of it until some Reasonite wrote a post about it the other day. Whatever they did to market this thing, it was genius.

[SFC B]

Because only 15 year old Caucasian males could enjoy bawdy slapstick.

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[anndytaylor]

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[sofiyathomas0225]

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[lukashik]

The technology is so developed that we can watch videos, live streaming, TV serials and any of our missed programs within our mobiles and PCs. Showbox
All we need is a mobile or PC with a very good internet connection. There are many applications by which we can enjoy videos, our missed programs, live streaming etc.